Re: "moral" pharmacists and birth control - Its all the Pope's fault!!!

[femme.democratique]

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-vitae_en.html

He's advocating that pharmacists practice their conscience.


89. Agencies and centres of service to life, and all other initiatives of support and solidarity which circumstances may from time to time suggest, need to be directed by people who are generous in their involvement and fully aware of the importance of the Gospel of life for the good of individuals and society.

A unique responsibility belongs to health-care personnel: doctors, pharmacists, nurses, chaplains, men and women religious, administrators and volunteers. Their profession calls for them to be guardians and servants of human life. In today's cultural and social context, in which science and the practice of medicine risk losing sight of their inherent ethical dimension, health-care professionals can be strongly tempted at times to become manipulators of life, or even agents of death. In the face of this temptation their responsibility today is greatly increased. Its deepest inspiration and strongest support lie in the intrinsic and undeniable ethical dimension of the health-care profession, something already recognized by the ancient and still relevant Hippocratic Oath, which requires every doctor to commit himself to absolute respect for human life and its sacredness.

Absolute respect for every innocent human life also requires the exercise of conscientious objection in relation to procured abortion and euthanasia. "Causing death" can never be considered a form of medical treatment, even when the intention is solely to comply with the patient's request. Rather, it runs completely counter to the health- care profession, which is meant to be an impassioned and unflinching affirmation of life. Bio- medical research too, a field which promises great benefits for humanity, must always reject experimentation, research or applications which disregard the inviolable dignity of the human being, and thus cease to be at the service of people and become instead means which, under the guise of helping people, actually harm them

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. Feeling a bit smug that I live in Illinois....

where the governor recently signed an executive order that if pharmacists refuse to dispense birth control pills to women with prescriptions, they must send them post haste to another pharmacy where someone will comply.

I am far from agreeing with everything that Blagoevich does, but in this case, I am solidly behind him.

The other anti-woman and family thing about the Pope that pisses me off is the anti-IVF stance. That is how the triplets were conceived. He would deny this family the pleasure of these three unique individuals just because they were conceived through semi-artificial means?

Damnit, they are part of their mother and father. They are remarkable and our family is so enriched by their existence.

[TahitiNut]

2. That's not enough.

It'd be my own preference that any pharmacist who placed their personal religious beliefs regarding what other people do above their professional and licensed duties have their license revoked. At an absolute minimum, however, I'd insist that any pharmacy where such pharmacists were employed be required by law to post a permanent and prominent notice regarding the specific drugs and circumstances under which they'd refuse to fill the prescription. I'd prohibit them, with criminal penalties, from calling themselves a "full service" pharmacy or anything like it if they had such exceptions.

[havocmom]

3. Your plan gets my vote.

And I would guess that most of the pharmacists who pull this shit are something other than Catholics. Has anybody seen any stats on Catholic to Fundamental % for the bozos doing this?

It's about control and who has it.

[greatauntoftriplets]

4. Your plan gets my vote as well....

I am sure that many of the pharmacists who refuse to fill birth control prescriptions happily fill those for Viagra, Cialis and the like....

[King Ludwig]

5. Dumb question about EMTs/Paramedics and Drunk Drivers

What about a teetotaling Paramedic who picks up a seriously injured drunk driver at a fatal accident -- and just goes slow and obeys the speed limits and none of this "Code Three" and "Red Ball" heroics on the way to the Trauma Center -- because he doesn't like drunk drivers who kill innocent people.